The following is an exert from the blog Unpublished Ottawa on Regulatory Fraud:

From the Desk of Larry Elford, originally Posted on January 29, 2018

Author’s Note:My circle of malpractice and misconduct investigators can find no possible public interest benefit, and considerable public interest harm, in learning that Securities Commissions are ‘aiding the industry’ in deceiving, and hiding essential information from the public.

The video below shows (at the one minute mark) how the commissions in Canada informed the public about the difference between an investment salesperson and a registered investment adviser. (a fiduciary professional with a duty to “do no harm” to investors) This ‘clarity’ was in place from September 2009 until January 2018, when for some reason, the commissions decided to eliminate some of the clarity for investors. They further removed (twice now) information which cautioned and informed investors. Why?

Author’s Video Note

This is how a “confidence man” works:

Prior to September of 2009, the license and registration category of your investment “advice giver” was (in 99% of cases) one of the following two choices:

a) a registered investment adviser (the “Do no harm” fiduciary professional) orb) a registered “salesperson” (the one where they could act against the investor interests)

Investors were not well informed, back then, as most, if not all persons who were registered in the “salesperson” category preferred to call themselves by a non registered and non-regulated title, spelled “advisor”.

By clever use of a single “Vowel Movement”, millions of investors are deceived, and led to believe they have a “do no harm” fiduciary-duty professional, while the salesperson and the dealer have accomplished a clever bait and switch. They will have convinced trusting clients that they are dealing with someone to be trusted, while actually hiding the saleperson’s lesser duty of care.

“ the confidence man is someone who preys upon peoples confidence in them”

Fast forward to September of 2009, when the CSA (umbrella organization of all 13 Canadian Provincial Securities Regulators), decide to change the rules/laws in Canada, REMOVING every mention of the word SALESPERSON in the Securities Act, rules. They replace that rather clear term, with the term “DEALING REPRESENTATIVE”. To be fair, they did, in some documents place the word (Salesperson) in brackets, immediately behind the word “Dealing Representative”. That helped maintain some of the original info and intent of the disclosure.

Still, one a small step was taken in the direction of “editing out” the term “Salesperson” from the Securities Rules and laws in Canada. The important thing to keep in mind, is that Securities Commissions did NOT move to eliminate the commission sales role from “advice givers”, but rather they simply allowed commission-sales “advice givers” to obfuscate their ‘label’, to in effect be less clear and open to their investor clients. Allowing them to hide their registration and job role from investors.

They continued (as they do to this day) to refer to themselves as “Advisors” in most cases, despite Securities Act rules and laws against “misrepresentation of ones registration category”. It simply serves investment salespeople better if they do not tell their customers that they are “salespersons”. Trust (and the customer’s money) is easier to gain if they conceal the true “salepserson” registration behind a not-true advisor title…(gaining trust by concealment?<

Fast forward to January 2018 and the new changes quietly put into place have now deleted the (salesperson) clarification from the “Understanding Registration” page of the CSA web site. It appears that the provincial governement regulators truly do not want the public to “Understand Registration”, when it comes to investment salespersons…

This again brings to mind the regulatory double mandate, double-bind,..of having to do what they industry pays them to do….or else.

Ten million Canadians who rely upon their investments to support themselves financially in retirement should not be treated to intentional obfuscation and apparent deception, by the investment industry, and most certainly not by government empowered (but industry paid/selected) securities regulators.This smacks of foxes guarding the henhouse, and helping their fox friends to pillage the hens, while working for a provincial government which tells the public that they are safely regulated and protected. It smacks of a breach of the public trust…See source for the full article here:<

Mr. Larry Elford is acclaimed as one of Canada’s top qualified experts on the subject of White Collar Crime as it relates to the investment selling industry. He is a retired CFP, (Chartered Financial Planner), a CIM, (Certified Investment Manager) by the Canadian Securities Institute, a FCSI, (Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute), the highest designation awarded by the Canadian Securities Institute to those for top achievements in educational and industry accomplishments. He is also an Associate Portfolio Manager and Director of the Canadian Justice Review Board of Canada. Larry is often called upon as an expert with national broadcasters like CTV, Global and CBC.

Mr. Elford worked inside the largest financial institutions in Canada for twenty years until his retirement in 2004. He works today writing, speaking and coaching Canadians on how to create safe and honest treatment for investors.

Mr. Elford is also an author and film producer. He was included in John Lawrence Reynolds’ second edition bestselling book, The Naked Investor, Why Almost Everybody But You Gets Rich On Your RRSP and Bruce Livesey’s 2012 book, Thieves of Bay Street, How Banks, Brokerages and the Wealthy Steal Billions from Canadians. He produced a compelling documentary film, Breach of Trust, The Unique Violence of White Collar Crime, to benefit investors, legislators and those who investigate financial crime.